Soccer

MAXIMUM SPORTS CONDITIONINGSOCCER TRAINING PHILOSOPHY

Maximum’s philosophy on training soccer players stems from the sport-specificactions they need to build, and the tools that college coaches and professional scoutsuse to judge the ability and potential of goalies, defenders, midfielders & forwards.
These are:

Ability to receive & touch

Ability to change directions quickly

Ability to pass (crossing, range, accuracy)

Ability to accelerate and decelerate quickly

Ability to see the field (awareness)

Ability to move the feet quickly and under control

Ability to jump

Based on these skills, soccer players must develop joint stability, balance, andconnective tissue strength through the ankle, knee, back and shoulders (to supportand stabilize explosive jumping, sprinting, changing direction and decelerating),posterior chain strength and power (to develop strength through glutes, hips, andlegs for jumping ability and speed), reactive ability, quickness, endurance, andlateral speed (for first-step quickness and defensive ability), and core strength (tostabilize lower lumber spine, and to aid in control of large motor movements) Although each position has its unique demands, all soccer players must improvethese essential basic motor abilities. A soccer player’s ability to run is most oftenjudged by his/her times on a 40 yard sprint. His/her ability to change directions quickly is most often judged by his/her time in a 20 yard shuttle.